Communication method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A communication method includes the steps of transmitting, by means of a first communication apparatus, personal information to a second communication apparatus; receiving, by means of the second communication apparatus, the personal information and searching, by means of the second communication apparatus, whether or not personal information having the same content as the received personal information exists in the second communication apparatus; and notifying, by means of the second communication apparatus, the first communication apparatus of a search result.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese PatentApplication JP 2005-301720 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Oct.17, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to communication apparatuses, such aswireless terminals or cellular phone terminals, and to communicationmethods performed between communication apparatuses.

2. Description of the Related Art

In social network services (SNS), such as Mixi or Gree, communitiesconstituted by so-called acquaintances of acquaintances (friends offriends) are formed.

Concerning acquaintances of acquaintances, as a matching informationretrieval method, a method is described in Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication No. 2002-169918. In this method, in order toretrieve information that matches conditions requested by a user fromamong various types of information stored in a computer system and toprovide the retrieved information to the user, a server system retrievesinformation owned by an acquaintance of the user or owned by anacquaintance of an acquaintance of the user and provides the retrievedinformation to the user.

However, in the method described in Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication No. 2002-169918, although a user is able toacquire information owned by an acquaintance of an acquaintance of theuser, the user is not able to directly communicate with the acquaintanceof the acquaintance of the user (that is, a person who knows anacquaintance of the user).

For certain purposes, many users want to communicate with other peoplewho are not immediate acquaintances. For example, when people who arenot immediately acquainted with each other pass by each other or getclose to each other outside home or at travel destinations, if they areable to directly communicate with each other, new encounters andexperiences can be realized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is desirable to provide a simple method and apparatus allowing peoplewho are not immediately acquainted with each other to directly andeasily communicate with each other.

A communication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention includes the steps of transmitting, by means of a firstcommunication apparatus, personal information to a second communicationapparatus; receiving, by means of the second communication apparatus,the personal information and searching, by means of the secondcommunication apparatus, whether or not personal information having thesame content as the received personal information exists in the secondcommunication apparatus; and notifying, by means of the secondcommunication apparatus, the first communication apparatus of a searchresult.

According to the communication method configured as described above, forexample, when the name or address of an acquaintance of a first user (auser of a first communication apparatus) exists as personal informationin the first communication apparatus and the name or address of anacquaintance of a second user (a user of a second communicationapparatus) exists as personal information in the second communicationapparatus, a result of search of whether or not a mutual (common)acquaintance between the first and second users exists is acquired bythe second communication apparatus. When there is a mutual acquaintancebetween the first and second users, the first and second users are ableto directly perform the subsequent communication with each other byrequesting the subsequent communication from one of the first and secondcommunication apparatuses to the other one of the first and secondcommunication apparatuses.

In addition, for example, when the name of a company to which the firstuser belongs or a school to which the first user belonged exists aspersonal information in the first communication apparatus and a companyto which the second user belongs or a school to which the second userbelonged exists as personal information in the second communicationapparatus, a search result of whether or not the first and second usersbelong to the same company or whether or not the first and second usersbelonged to the same school is acquired by the second communicationapparatus. When the first and second users belong to the same company orbelonged to the same school, the first and second users are able todirectly perform the subsequent communication with each other byrequesting the subsequent communication from one of the first and secondcommunication apparatuses to the other one of the first and secondcommunication apparatuses.

As described above, users who are not immediately acquainted with eachother are able to directly and easily communicate with each other usinga simple method and apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a communication system according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a wireless terminal according to theembodiment;

FIG. 3 shows part of an example of a communication process according toa first method;

FIG. 4 shows part of the example of the communication process accordingto the first method;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show part of the example of the communication processaccording to the first method;

FIG. 6 shows an example of setting of disclosure or nondisclosure;

FIG. 7 shows an example of a case where the degree of similarity ofpersonal information is detected; and

FIG. 8 shows an example of a system when communication is performed viaa network.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A first embodiment of the present invention (a case where short-distancewireless communication is performed) will be described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 7.

The outline of a communication apparatus and a communication method willbe described with reference to FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a communication system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Wireless terminals 1 a, 1 b, and 1 c are capable of directlytransferring information between each other within a predetermineddistance from each other via wireless communication, such as Ad-hoccommunication.

Thus, each of the wireless terminals 1 a, 1 b, and 1 c may serve as arequesting terminal or a responding terminal. In the followingdescriptions, however, a case where the wireless terminal 1 a used by auser A serves as a requesting terminal, wireless terminals 1 b and 1 cused by users B and C serve as responding terminals, and the wirelessterminal 1 a requests the wireless terminals 1 b and 1 c to performcommunication will be described.

The wireless terminal 1 a holds, as personal information, the names oraddresses of acquaintances of the user A in an internal or externalstorage device. The wireless terminal 1 b also holds, as personalinformation, the names or addresses of acquaintances of the user B in asimilar storage device. The wireless terminal 1 c also holds, aspersonal information, the names or addresses of acquaintances of theuser C in a similar storage device.

An “acquaintance” represents a friend, a family member, a relative, or aso-called someone who a person knows. A “name” serving as personalinformation may include a surname and forename, such as “YamashitaIchiro”, may be only a surname, such as “Yamashita”, or only a forename,such as “Ichiro”. Alternatively, a “name” may be a common name or anickname. An address serving as personal information is informationother than the name, such as a mail address or a telephone number, whichidentifies a person.

For example, the wireless terminal 1 a holds, as the names ofacquaintances of the user A, “Yamashita”, “Yamada”, “Yamaguchi”, and“Yamamoto”. The wireless terminal 1 b holds, as the names ofacquaintances of the user B, “Kishita”, “Kida”, “Minakuchi”, and“Mizukami”. The wireless terminal 1 c holds, as the names ofacquaintances of the user C, “Ueda”, “Ueki”, “Shimoyama”, and“Yamashita”.

In the system shown in FIG. 1, when the wireless terminal 1 a (the userA) enters an area 2 b within a predetermined distance from the wirelessterminal 1 b (the user B), the wireless terminal 1 a is capable oftransmitting to the wireless terminal 1 b the names of the acquaintancesof the user A held in the wireless terminal 1 a with the recognition ofthe existence of the wireless terminal 1 b. When the wireless terminal 1a (the user A) enters an area 2 c within a predetermined distance fromthe wireless terminal 1 c (the user C), the wireless terminal 1 a iscapable of transmitting to the wireless terminal 1 c the names of theacquaintances of the user A held in the wireless terminal 1 a with therecognition of the existence of the wireless terminal 1 c.

The wireless terminals 1 b and 1 c each receive the names of theacquaintances of the user A from the wireless terminal 1 a, and searchwhether or not the names exist in the wireless terminals 1 b and 1 c.Then, the wireless terminals 1 b and 1 c notify the wireless terminal 1a of results.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, none of the names transmitted from thewireless terminal 1 a exists in the wireless terminal 1 b. Thus, thewireless terminal 1 b transmits to the wireless terminal 1 a a message,such as “No mutual acquaintance exists.” In contrast, the name“Yamashita”, which is transmitted from the wireless terminal 1 a, existsin the wireless terminal 1 c. Thus, the wireless terminal 1 c transmitsto the wireless terminal 1 a a message, such as “I know Mr./Ms.Yamashita.”

The wireless terminal 1 a receives the messages from the wirelessterminals 1 b and 1 c, and presents to the user A the details of themessages, that is, search results acquired by the wireless terminals 1 band 1 c. Thus, the user A of the wireless terminal 1 a is able to knowthat the user A and the user B of the wireless terminal 1 b do not havea mutual acquaintance and that the user A and the user C of the wirelessterminal 1 c have (or may have) a mutual acquaintance. In accordancewith the search results, the user A is able to request the user C toperform communication between the wireless terminals 1 a and 1 c.

As a specific communication method between the wireless terminal 1 a andeach of the wireless terminals 1 b and 1 c, the method described belowcan be adopted.

An example of a wireless terminal will be described with reference toFIG. 2.

FIG. 2 shows an example of each of the wireless terminals 1 a, 1 b, and1 c. The wireless terminals 1 a, 1 b, and 1 c may have the sameconfiguration. In the example shown in FIG. 2, each of the wirelessterminals 1 a, 1 b, and 1 c is capable of playing back music.

More specifically, a wireless terminal used in the above-mentionedsystem, such as each of the wireless terminals 1 a, 1 b, and 1 c,includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11. A read-only memory (ROM) 13in which a program or data is written and a random-access memory (RAM)14 to which a program or data is loaded are connected to a bus 12.

In addition, a recording medium 16 is connected to the bus 12 via aninterface 15, and an operation input unit 19 is connected to the bus 12via an interface 18. The recording medium 16 is a hard disk, a flashmemory, or the like. An apparatus ID (identifier) that identifies theterminal, a program executable by the CPU 11, music data, other types ofdata, the above-mentioned personal information, and the like arerecorded on the recording medium 16. The operation input unit 19 isprovided for a user to perform an operation and input to the terminal.

In addition, an audio output unit 22 including a speaker and a headphoneis connected to the bus 12 via an audio processor 21. A display unit 24,such as a liquid crystal display, is connected to the bus 12 via adisplay controller 23. Playback music and voice announcement is outputfrom the audio output unit 22. A screen used for an operation input orsetting, a search result of personal information, a response(permission) to a communication request, and the like are indicated onthe display unit 24.

In addition, an antenna 27 is connected to the bus 12 via a wirelesscommunication unit 26, and an external interface 29 for connecting to anetwork 7, such as the Internet, is connected to the bus 12. Thewireless communication unit 26 and the antenna 27 perform theabove-mentioned short-distance wireless communication (direct wirelesscommunication within a predetermined distance).

A content distribution server 31 is connected to the network 7. Acontent database 32 is connected to the content distribution server 31.In response to a request received from the terminal via the network 7,the content distribution server 31 transmits music data stored in thecontent database 32 to the terminal via the network 7. The transmittedmusic data is downloaded to the recording medium of the terminal.

A personal information management server 33 is connected to the network7. A personal information database 34 is connected to the personalinformation management server 33. In response to a request received fromthe terminal via the network 7, the personal information managementserver 33 transmits to the terminal via the network 7 personalinformation belonging to the user of the terminal and stored in thepersonal information database 34. The transmitted personal informationis recorded on the recording medium 16 or the RAM 14 of the terminal.

That is, in this example, each wireless terminal does not necessarilyhold the above-mentioned personal information. When a user intends tocommunicate with another user via the above-mentioned short-distancewireless communication, the terminal is connected to the personalinformation management server 33. Thus, the terminal is capable ofreceiving from the personal information management server 33 personalinformation deposited in the personal information management server 33and holding the received personal information in the terminal.

In addition, each wireless terminal used in this example may also have afunction of a cellular phone terminal. In this case, personalinformation is stored in a server of a cellular phone service company ora management service company. Thus, the system may be configured suchthat, in response to a request received from a terminal via a cellularphone communication network, the server is capable of transmitting viathe cellular phone communication network to the terminal personalinformation belonging to the user of the terminal.

Examples of communication methods will be described with reference toFIGS. 3, 4, 5A, and 5B.

As a communication method or procedure, a method can be adopted in whicha requesting terminal transmits to a responding terminal personalinformation stored in the requesting terminal and queries the respondingterminal as to whether or not the same personal information as thepersonal information transmitted from the requesting terminal exists inthe responding terminal and in which, in response to the query, theresponding terminal searches whether or not the same personalinformation as the personal information transmitted from the requestingterminal exists in the responding terminal and notifies the requestingterminal of a search result. This method is called a first method.

Alternatively, another method can be adopted in which a requestingterminal requests a responding terminal to transmit personal informationexisting in the responding terminal and searches whether or not the samepersonal information as the personal information transmitted, inresponse to the request, from the responding terminal exists in therequesting terminal. This method is called a second method.

According to the first method, when the names of a plurality ofacquaintances of the user of the requesting terminal exist as personalinformation in the requesting terminal, the requesting terminal maysequentially transmit the plurality of names to the responding terminaluntil the requesting terminal receives from the responding terminal areport indicating that the same name as a name transmitted from therequesting terminal exists in the responding terminal. However, therequesting terminal may collectively transmit the plurality of names tothe responding terminal that the responding terminal can performsearching by a single operation.

In addition, according to the second method, when the names of aplurality of acquaintances of the user of the responding terminal existas personal information in the responding terminal, the respondingterminal may sequentially transmit the plurality of names to therequesting terminal until the responding terminal receives from therequesting terminal a report indicating that the same name as a nametransmitted from the responding terminal exists in the requestingterminal. However, the responding terminal may collectively transmit theplurality of names to the requesting terminal so that the requestingterminal can perform searching by a single operation.

In addition, the system can be configured such that, when personalinformation is received from the requesting terminal in the first methodor when a request to transmit personal information is received from therequesting terminal in the second method, the responding terminalindicates on the display unit 24 of the responding terminal a messageindicating that the personal information is received from the requestingterminal or a message indicating that the request to transmit thepersonal information is received from the requesting terminal andpresents the message to the user of the responding terminal and suchthat, when the user is not able to accept the subsequent communicationor when the user does not want to accept the subsequent communication,the responding terminal is capable of inhibiting searching for personalinformation or transmission of personal information by disconnecting thecommunication with the requesting terminal or by transmitting a messageindicating that the communication with the requesting terminal is notacceptable in accordance with an operation of the operation input unit19 of the responding terminal.

Examples of communication processes performed by the wireless terminal 1a serving as the requesting terminal and the wireless terminal 1 xserving as the responding terminal in accordance with the first andsecond methods will be described. The wireless terminal 1 x has the sameconfiguration as the wireless terminal 1 a shown in FIG. 2. A user Xrepresents a user of the wireless terminal 1 x.

A communication process according to the first method will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5A, and 5B.

FIGS. 3, 4, 5A, and 5B show an example of the communication processperformed by the CPU 11 of each of the wireless terminals 1 a and 1 xaccording to the first method.

In the communication process in this example, in a state where each ofthe wireless terminals 1 a and 1 x is started up, the wireless terminal1 a determines whether or not a destination terminal is found in stepS41. When the wireless terminal 1 a enters an area within apredetermined distance from the wireless terminal 1 x (or the wirelessterminal 1 x enters an area within a predetermined distance from thewireless terminal 1 a), the wireless terminal 1 a finds the wirelessterminal 1 x as a destination terminal. In step S42, the wirelessterminal 1 a transmits to the wireless terminal 1 x the names ofacquaintances of the user A.

Here, the wireless terminal 1 a adds a routine message, such as “Isthere anyone you know?”

In step S61, the wireless terminal 1 x receives the names. In step S62,the wireless terminal 1 x indicates a message, such as “There is arequest from the user A of the wireless terminal 1 a that the user Awould like to talk with someone who the user A knows,” which indicatesthat the names are received.

In step S63, the wireless terminal 1 x searches whether or not the samename as a name transmitted from the wireless terminal 1 a exists in thewireless terminal 1 x. In step S64, it is determined whether or not thesame name as a name transmitted from the wireless terminal 1 a exists inthe wireless terminal 1 x in accordance with a search result.

If it is determined in step S64 that the same name does not exist, thewireless terminal 1 x proceeds to step S65. In step S65, the wirelessterminal 1 x indicates a message, such as “There is no mutualacquaintance.” In step S66, similarly, the wireless terminal 1 xnotifies the wireless terminal 1 a of a message, such as “There is nomutual acquaintance,”.

In contrast, if it is determined in step S64 that the same name as aname transmitted from the wireless terminal 1 a exists in the wirelessterminal 1 x, the wireless terminal 1 x proceeds to step S67. In stepS67, the wireless terminal 1 x indicates a message, such as “I have anacquaintance called Mr./Ms. AAA.” In step S68, similarly, the wirelessterminal 1 x notifies the wireless terminal 1 a of a massage, such as “Ihave an acquaintance called Mr./Ms. AAA,”.

After transmitting the names of the acquaintances of the user A in stepS42, the wireless terminal 1 a receives the report from the wirelessterminal 1 x in step S43. Then, in step S44, the wireless terminal 1 adetermines whether or not the report indicates presence of anacquaintance having the same name as a name transmitted from thewireless terminal 1 a.

If it is determined in step S44 that the report received from thewireless terminal 1 x indicates presence of an acquaintance having thesame name as a name transmitted from the wireless terminal 1 a, thewireless terminal 1 a proceeds to step S45. In step S45, the wirelessterminal 1 a requests the wireless terminal 1 x to perform thesubsequent communication.

This request is issued by transmitting a routine message, such as “Ialso know Mr./Ms. AAA. Would you like to talk with me?”

After transmitting the message, such as “I have an acquaintance calledMr./Ms. AAA,” to the wireless terminal 1 a in step S68, the wirelessterminal 1 x receives the request from the wireless terminal 1 a in stepS71. Then, in step S72, the wireless terminal 1 x indicates that therequest has been received.

The user X instructs the wireless terminal 1 x to perform or not toperform the subsequent communication in accordance with an operation ofthe operation input unit 19 of the wireless terminal 1 x.

After indicating the reception of the request in step S72, the wirelessterminal 1 x determines whether or not to perform the subsequentcommunication in accordance with an instruction from the user X in stepS73. If it is determined in step S73 that the subsequent communicationshould not be performed, the wireless terminal 1 x proceeds to step S74.In step S74, the wireless terminal 1 x notifies the wireless terminal 1a that the subsequent communication should not be performed. If it isdetermined in step S73 that the subsequent communication should beperformed, the wireless terminal 1 x proceeds to step S75. In step S75,the wireless terminal 1 x notifies the wireless terminal 1 a that thesubsequent communication should be performed.

After requesting the wireless terminal 1 x to perform the subsequentcommunication in step S45, the wireless terminal 1 a receives the reportfrom the wireless terminal 1 x in step S46. Then, in step S47, thewireless terminal 1 a determines whether or not the report indicatesacceptance of the subsequent communication.

If it is determined in step S47 that the report received from thewireless terminal 1 x indicates acceptance of the subsequentcommunication, the wireless terminal 1 a proceeds to step S48. In stepS48, the wireless terminal 1 a communicates with the wireless terminal 1x. Then, in step S49, the wireless terminal 1 a determines whether ornot to terminate the communication. If it is determined in step S49 thatthe communication should not be terminated, the wireless terminal 1 areturns to step S48 to continue the communication with the wirelessterminal 1 x.

In addition, after transmitting the report indicating the acceptance ofthe subsequent communication in step S75, the wireless terminal 1 xproceeds to step S76. In step S76, the wireless terminal 1 xcommunicates with the wireless terminal 1 a. Then, in step S77, thewireless terminal 1 x determines whether or not to terminate thecommunication. If it is determined in step S77 that the communicationshould not be terminated, the wireless terminal 1 x returns to step S76to continue the communication with the wireless terminal 1 a.

In the communication between the wireless terminals 1 a and 1 x in theprocessing of steps S48 and S76, the users A and X are capable ofperforming communication, as described later, such as exchange ofmessages and transmission of music data from one of the wirelessterminals 1 a and 1 x to the other one of the wireless terminals 1 a and1 x so that the users of the wireless terminals 1 a and 1 x can listento the same music together.

If it is determined in step S49 or step S77 that the communicationshould be terminated in accordance with a termination operationperformed by the user A or the user X, the wireless terminal 1 a or 1 xperforms processing for terminating the communication with the wirelessterminal 1 x or 1 a and then terminates the communication in step S51 orstep S79.

When it is determined in step S44 that the report received from thewireless terminal 1 x indicates that there is no acquaintance having thesame name or when it is determined in step S47 that the report receivedfrom the wireless terminal 1 x indicates that the subsequentcommunication should be rejected, the wireless terminal 1 a proceeds tostep S51. In step S51, after performing processing for terminating thecommunication with the wireless terminal 1 x, the wireless terminal 1 aterminates the communication with the wireless terminal 1 x.

In addition, after transmitting to the wireless terminal 1 a the reportindicating that there is no acquaintance having the same name in stepS66 or after transmitting to the wireless terminal 1 a the reportindicating that the subsequent communication should be rejected, thewireless terminal 1 x proceeds to step S79. In step S79, afterperforming processing for terminating the communication with thewireless terminal 1 a, the wireless terminal 1 x terminates thecommunication with the wireless terminal 1 a.

Although an example of the process performed by the wireless terminals 1a and 1 x in accordance with the first method has been described above,each of the wireless terminals 1 a and 1 x may be configured to performa process that is different from the above-described process.

For example, each of the wireless terminals 1 a and 1 x may beconfigured such that, when the user X instructs termination ofcommunication after the wireless terminal 1 x indicates in step S62 thata search request has been received from the wireless terminal 1 a, thewireless terminal 1 x is capable of terminating the communication withthe wireless terminal 1 a after reporting to the wireless terminal 1 athat the wireless terminal 1 x does not accept the request.

In addition, each of the wireless terminals 1 a and 1 x may beconfigured such that, even in a case where a report indicating thatthere is no acquaintance of the same name is received from the wirelessterminal 1 x, when the user A instructs a request for the subsequentcommunication, the wireless terminal 1 a is capable of requesting thewireless terminal 1 x to perform the subsequent communication.

A communication process according to the second method will bedescribed.

In the second method, a process performed by the wireless terminals 1 aand 1 x is basically the same as the process according to the firstmethod with the exception that, when the wireless terminal 1 a, which isa requesting terminal, requests the wireless terminal 1 x, which is aresponding terminal, to transmit the names of acquaintances of the userX existing in the wireless terminal 1 x and the wireless terminal 1 xtransmits, in response to the request, to the wireless terminal 1 a thenames of the acquaintances of the user X existing in the wirelessterminal 1 x, the wireless terminal 1 a searches whether or not the samename as a name transmitted from the wireless terminal 1 x exists in thewireless terminal 1 a and notifies the wireless terminal 1 x of a searchresult.

Communication between users will be described.

In the first method, communication after a request is received (that is,the subsequent communication) performed in steps S48 and S76 in FIGS. 5Aand 5B includes exchange of messages, transmission of music data fromone of the wireless terminals 1 a and 1 x to the other one of thewireless terminals 1 a and 1 x so that users of the wireless terminals 1a and 1 x can listen to the same music together, and the like.

When each of the wireless terminals 1 a and 1 x is provided with amicrophone and has a function to transmit voice of a user picked up bythe microphone to a destination terminal via the above-mentionedshort-distance communication, conversation (talk) can be performedbetween the users A and X.

Disclosure/nondisclosure of personal information will be described withreference to FIG. 6.

As personal information, apart from the name of an acquaintance of auser, the address of the acquaintance can be used.

Firstly, however, the name and address of an acquaintance of a user ispersonal information of the acquaintance of the user (that is, theperson who the user knows). Thus, in terms of protection of personalinformation, it is necessary to acquire permission of the acquaintancefor disclosure of the name and address of the acquaintance (transmissionof the name and address of the acquaintance to another user).

Thus, a user is able to set disclosure or nondisclosure of the name andaddress of an acquaintance of the user.

FIG. 6 shows an example when a user sets disclosure or nondisclosure ofpersonal information. In the example shown in FIG. 6, in the requestingwireless terminal 1 a, “Yamashita”, “Yamada”, “Yamaguchi”, and“Yamamoto” exist as disclosable names of acquaintances of the user A,and “Nakata”, “Nakamura”, “Ueda”, and “Morita” exist as non-disclosablenames of acquaintances of the user A. In addition, in the respondingwireless terminal 1 x, “Ueda”, “Ueki”, “Shimoyama”, and “Shimoda” existas disclosable names of acquaintances of the user X, and “Shimomura”,“Muzuki”, “Mizumori”, and “Yamashita” exist as non-disclosable names ofacquaintances of the user X.

In this case, only the names of acquaintances that can be disclosed aretransmitted to a destination terminal. More specifically, in the firstmethod, in step S42 in FIG. 3, the wireless terminal 1 a transmits tothe wireless terminal 1 x only the names that can be disclosed (that is,“Yamashita”, “Yamada”, “Yamaguchi”, and “Yamamoto”) as the names ofacquaintances of the user A. In addition, in the second method, inresponse to a transmission request from the wireless terminal 1 a, thewireless terminal 1 x transmits to the wireless terminal 1 a only thenames that can be disclosed (that is, “Ueda”, “Ueki”, “Shimoyama”, and“Shimoda”) as the names of acquaintances of the user X.

In contrast, personal information that is not disclosable can also beincluded in targets for searching performed by a searching terminal.That is, in the first method, in step S63 in FIG. 3, search is performedfor all the names of acquaintances of the user X existing in thewireless terminal 1 x. In the second method, search is performed for allthe names of acquaintances of the user A existing in the wirelessterminal 1 a.

Thus, in the example shown in FIG. 6, in the first method, as a namethat is equal to one of the names (“Yamashita”, “Yamada”, “Yamaguchi”,and “Yamamoto”) transmitted from the wireless terminal 1 a, presence ofthe name “Yamashita”, which is not disclosable, is detected in thewireless terminal 1 x. In the second method, as a name that is equal toone of the names (“Ueda”, “Ueki”, “Shimoyama”, and “Shimoda”)transmitted from the wireless terminal 1 x, presence of the name “Ueda”,which is not disclosable, is detected in the wireless terminal 1 a.

Each wireless terminal may be configured such that, when, in the firstmethod, presence of a name that is not disclosable is detected in thewireless terminal 1 x, a message indicating nondisclosure is displayedin step S67 in FIG. 3, and the user X is able to carry out approximatemeasures, such as rejection of the subsequent communication. Inaddition, each wireless terminal may be configured such that, when, inthe second method, presence of a name that is not disclosable isdetected in the wireless terminal 1 a, a user is able to perform similarprocessing.

Personal information is not necessarily limited to the name or addressof an acquaintance of a user of a terminal. Information indicating anitem relating to the user of the terminal may be used as personalinformation.

The use of information indicating an item relating to a user of aterminal is not useful for communication between acquaintances ofacquaintances. However, the use of information indicating an itemrelating to a user of a terminal may serve as a trigger of communicationbetween people who are not immediately acquainted with each other, thusfacilitating communication.

More specifically, information indicating an item relating to a user is,for example, (a) the name of a company, a school, a group, a section, amunicipality, or the like that the user belongs to or belonged to, (b) ahobby or taste of the user, (c) a music category, a singer, or a songthe user likes, or the like.

Accordingly, for example, in a case where “Taro” exists in the wirelessterminal 1 a as the name of a singer the user A likes and “Taro” existsin the wireless terminal 1 x as the name of a signer the user X likes,when the users A and X enter an area of a predetermined distance fromeach other, the fact that both the users A and X like the singer “Taro”brings an opportunity of communication between the users A and X. Thus,the users A and X are capable of communicating with each other.

The degree of similarity of personal information will be described withreference to FIG. 7.

For determination of whether or not personal information existing in arequesting terminal and personal information existing in a respondingterminal are equal to each other (or common), it is desirable that,instead of alternatively determining individual personal information asdescribed above, the degree of similarity between the entire personalinformation existing in the requesting terminal and the entire personalinformation existing in the responding terminal be detected as a level(value).

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, as the names of acquaintances of theuser A, names “Yamashita”, “Yamada”, “Yamaguchi”, and “Yamamoto” existin the requesting wireless terminal 1 a. In addition, as the names ofacquaintances of the user X, names “Ueda”, “Ueki”, “Shimoyama”, and“Yamashita” exist in the responding wireless terminal 1 x, as shown bycase 1, or names “Yamada”, “Ueki”, “Shimoyama”, and “Yamashita” exist inthe responding wireless terminal 1 x, as shown by case 2. In this case,all the above-given names are disclosable.

In case 1, since only the name “Yamashita” exists both in the wirelessterminals 1 a and 1 x, the degree of similarity is set to level 1. Incase 2, since the names “Yamada” and “Yamashita” exist both in thewireless terminals 1 a and 1 x, the degree of similarity is set to level2.

The degree of similarity detected as described above may be used forselection of whether or not the subsequent communication should beperformed and for determination of a target or a mode of the subsequentcommunication.

For example, each wireless terminal may be configured such that, in thefirst method, when the degree of similarity is also detected in step S64in FIG. 3 and the same name exists, the degree of similarity isindicated in step S67 in FIG. 3 or immediately before step S45 in FIG.4, and such that selection of whether or not to request the subsequentcommunication can be performed in accordance with the degree ofsimilarity. More specifically, for example, when the degree ofsimilarity is low, such as level 1, the user X rejects the subsequentcommunication. Alternatively, only when the degree of similarity ishigh, such as level 2 or more, the user A requests the subsequentcommunication, and when the degree of similarity is low, such as level1, the user A does not request the subsequent communication. A similarconfiguration is applied to the second method.

In addition, each wireless terminal may be configured such that a userinstruction is set for the wireless terminal in advance and such that,in the process of communication, the wireless terminal is capable ofdetermining whether or not communication should be continued and whetheror not a request is issued in accordance with settings.

A target or a mode of the subsequent communication is changed inaccordance with selection or setting performed by a user. Morespecifically, when the degree of similarity is smaller than a thresholdvalue, a target or a mode of communication is changed, for example, (a)although messages are exchanged, transmission or reception of music datain order to listen to the same music together or conversation (talk) isnot performed or (b) although the same music is listened together, onlyone track is listened, in accordance with the degree of similarity.

A second embodiment of the present invention (a case where communicationvia a network is performed) will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

As a first example, communication using a cellular phone communicationnetwork will be described.

Although a case where a communication apparatus used by a user is awireless terminal and the communication apparatus communicates with acommunication apparatus (wireless terminal) used by another user viashort-distance wireless communication is described in the firstembodiment, the communication apparatus may be a cellular phone terminaland the communication apparatus may communicate with anothercommunication apparatus (cellular phone terminal) via a cellular phonecommunication network.

Each of the wireless terminals 1 a, 1 b, 1 c, and 1 x shown in FIG. 2 iscapable of having a function of a cellular phone terminal in the firstembodiment. However, in the first embodiment, communication betweenusers is performed using a short-distance wireless communicationfunction provided in each wireless terminal.

In contrast, in the first example of the second embodiment, acommunication apparatus is a cellular phone terminal that does not havea short-distance wireless communication function. Thus, theabove-described communication between users is performed using acellular phone communication network.

In this case, even when a user of a requesting cellular phone terminaldoes not know a user of a responding cellular phone terminal, if theuser of the requesting cellular phone terminal knows the address of theresponding cellular phone terminal, the requesting cellular phoneterminal is capable of being connected to the responding cellular phoneterminal via a cellular phone communication network. Thus, the user ofthe requesting cellular phone terminal is capable of performing theabove-described communication with the user of the responding cellularphone terminal.

As a second example, communication using the Internet will be described.

As the second example of communication using a network, a communicationapparatus used by a user may have a function to be connected to theInternet and the communication apparatus may communicate with acommunication apparatus of another user via the Internet.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a system in this case. Communicationapparatuses 3 d, 3 e, 3 f, and 3 g used by the users D, E, F, and G areconnected to the Internet 9. In addition, the personal informationmanagement server 33 is connected to the Internet 9. The personalinformation database 34 is connected to the personal informationmanagement server 33.

Names “Yamashita”, “Yamada”, “Yamaguchi”, “Yamamoto”, “Miki”, “Mita”,and “Nakamura” exist as the names of acquaintances of the user D in thecommunication apparatus 3 d. Names “Mita”, “Nakamura”, “Nakamori”,“Morita”, “Hayashi”, and “Moriyama” exist as the names of acquaintancesof the user E in the communication apparatus 3 e. Names “Moriyama”,Mizuki”, “Mizumori”, “Shimoyama”, “Shimoda”, “Shimomura”, “Uemura”, and“Kanda” exist as the names of acquaintances of the user F in thecommunication apparatus 3 f. Names “Uemura”, “Shinagawa”, “Kawada”,“Kawaguchi”, and “Ota” exist as the names of acquaintances of the user Gin the communication apparatus 3 g.

These names are not necessarily recorded on a communication apparatusused by a user. The communication apparatus is capable of acquiringthese names from the personal information management server 33 when thecommunication apparatus is connected to another communication apparatusto transmit names existing in the communication apparatus to the othercommunication apparatus, when the other communication apparatus requeststhe communication apparatus to transmit names existing in thecommunication apparatus, or when the communication apparatus searcheswhether or not the same name as a name transmitted from the othercommunication apparatus exists in the communication apparatus.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, “Mita” and “Nakamura” are mutualacquaintances between the users D and E, “Moriyama” is a mutualacquaintance between the users E and F, and “Uemura” is a mutualacquaintance between the users F and G. However, there is no mutualacquaintance between the users D and F, between the users D and G, orbetween the users E and G.

In this case, for example, even when the user D does not know the userE, if the user D knows the address of the communication apparatus 3 eused by the user E, the communication apparatus 3 d is capable of beingconnected to the communication apparatus 3 e used by the user E. Thus,the user D is able to perform the above-described communication with theuser E.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. A communication method comprising: transmitting, with a firstcommunication apparatus, personal information to a second communicationapparatus; receiving, with the second communication apparatus, thepersonal information and searching, with the second communicationapparatus, whether stored personal information matching the receivedpersonal information received from the first communication apparatusexists in the second communication apparatus; and notifying, with thesecond communication apparatus, the first communication apparatus of asearch result.
 2. The communication method according to claim 1, whereinthe personal information is a name or an address of a person who is nota user of a communication apparatus in which the personal information isheld.
 3. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein thepersonal information is information indicating an item relating to auser of a communication apparatus in which the personal information isheld.
 4. The communication method according to claim 1, whereindisclosure or nondisclosure of the personal information is set by a userof a communication apparatus in which the personal information is held.5. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the firstcommunication apparatus and the second communication apparatus arewireless terminals that are capable of directly transferring informationvia wireless communication between each other within a predetermineddistance from each other.
 6. The communication method according to claim1, wherein each of the first communication apparatus and the secondcommunication apparatus has a function of a cellular phone terminal. 7.The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the firstcommunication apparatus and the second communication apparatus arecommunication terminals that are capable of transferring informationbetween each other via a network.
 8. The communication method accordingto claim 1, wherein the personal information exists in a database withwhich the first communication apparatus and the second communicationapparatus are capable of communicating, and the personal information istransmitted from the database to the first communication apparatus andthe second communication apparatus and is held in the firstcommunication apparatus and the second communication apparatus.
 9. Thecommunication method according to claim 1, wherein the secondcommunication apparatus calculates a degree of similarity between thepersonal information and stored personal information existing in thesecond communication apparatus.
 10. The communication method accordingto claim 9, wherein, in accordance with the degree of similarity, atarget or a mode of the subsequent communication is changed.
 11. Acommunication apparatus comprising: storing means for holding personalinformation; communicating means for communicating with an othercommunication apparatus; and control means for searching whether or notpersonal information matching personal information received from theother communication apparatus by the communicating means exists withinthe personal information held in the storing means and for causing thecommunicating means to notify the other communication apparatus of asearch result.
 12. The communication apparatus according to claim 11,wherein the personal information held in the storing means is a name oran address of a person who is not a user of the communication apparatus.13. The communication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein thepersonal information held in the storing means is information indicatingan item relating to a user of the communication apparatus.
 14. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein disclosure ornondisclosure of the personal information held in the storing means isset by a user of the communication apparatus.
 15. The communicationapparatus according to claim 11, wherein the communication apparatus isa wireless terminal that is capable of directly transmitting andreceiving information via wireless communication to and from the othercommunication apparatus located within a predetermined distance from thecommunication apparatus.
 16. The communication apparatus according toclaim 11, wherein the communication apparatus has a function of acellular phone terminal.
 17. The communication apparatus according toclaim 11, wherein the communication apparatus is a communicationterminal that is capable of transmitting and receiving information via anetwork to and from the other communication apparatus.
 18. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the personalinformation held in the storing means exists in a database with whichthe communication apparatus is capable of communicating, and thepersonal information is transmitted from the database to thecommunication apparatus and is written to the storing means by thecontrol means.
 19. The communication apparatus according to claim 11,wherein the control means calculates a degree of similarity between thepersonal information held in the storing means and the personalinformation received from the other communication apparatus by thecommunicating means.
 20. The communication apparatus according to claim19, wherein the control means changes a target or a mode of thesubsequent communication with the other communication apparatus inaccordance with the degree of similarity.
 21. A communication apparatuscomprising: a storage unit that holds personal information; acommunication unit that communicates with an other communicationapparatus; and a controller that searches whether or not personalinformation having a same content as personal information received fromthe other communication apparatus by the communication unit existswithin the personal information held in the storage unit and that causesthe communication unit to notify the other communication apparatus of asearch result.